God of Ten Thousand Nations and People

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Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,

    for you judge the peoples with equity

    and guide the nations upon earth.

Let the peoples praise you, O God;

    let all the peoples praise you. Psalm 67:4-5

Dear friends,

While in the U.S. this summer we traveled on a route between Cincinnati (Emily’s family), Birmingham (my family), and Atlanta (where we are staying at Mission Haven). From there we took trips east and north. We’ve visited churches in Birmingham, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Donalsonville, Georgetown, High Point, Richwood, and Sanford. We had long wanted to visit several of these churches or hadn’t visited since before COVID. Many have been through huge changes and transitions and even familiar churches have often changed a lot. It’s striking to me how there are often similarities between Taiwan and the U.S., as churches struggle to deal with changed church attendance patterns, shifts in technology, and new ministries.

[ngg src="galleries" ids="1191" display="pro_horizontal_filmstrip" show_captions="1"]During our U.S. trips, we often pick a theme for preaching. Our goal is to find something that helps churches think about the global church and their place in it. This time, we’re using Psalm 67, which is one of three “psalms of the nations” (the two others are 96 and 117). All of these psalms talk about “nations” and “peoples.” In Mandarin or Taiwanese, the church uses the phrase “ten thousand nations and ten thousand people” to translate these expressions and also to talk about who God is (“The God of Ten Thousand Nations and Ten Thousand People”). There’s an expansiveness to these psalms, a recognition that the world is full of different nations or countries, and that within those countries are a host of different people. I love how Psalm 96 says, “Let the nations be glad and sing for joy.” In our tradition, our theology of mission has often changed, and how we do mission is constantly evolving, but we trust that the world is in God’s hands and that God loves the countries and peoples of the world.

When we share about Taiwan, we also talk about Taiwan’s place among the nations and the rich diversity of its people. Often, we give a general introduction to Taiwan—introducing its languages and peoples, the Presbyterian church’s history and traditions, and the country’s complex history (waves of colonization going back more than four hundred years). A big part of our work is just answering questions: What is Taiwanese folk religion? What do people eat? How hard is it to learn another language? Are Mandarin, Taiwanese, and the indigenous languages similar? How is the church in Taiwan doing? How does Taiwan relate to China?

For us, this summer also marks the transition to a new term. It’s been a chance to try out new things and be re-energized. I was grateful to go to two mission/world Christianity conferences in June, one in South Bend, Indiana, and one online. We spent a lot of time with my parents at Kirkwood by the River, a Presbyterian home in Birmingham, and I preached for their chapel once. I got to talk with several other mission co-workers in Mission Haven, serving in Niger, South Sudan, and Colombia. Eli and I hosted some Taiwanese students from the Atlanta area. I bought too many books. Our kids did a jazz camp in Cincinnati and our eldest did a baseball program in Birmingham and a church event in DC. We leave in two weeks and classes start days after I get back. As we travel across the U.S., I’m often struck by the diversity of my home country and its peoples.

God is the God of Ten Thousand Nations and Ten Thousand People. Let the nations be glad and sing for joy! Amidst strife and change, transitions and new things, let the nations be glad.

The Seitz Family, Fall 2023

Please read this important message from Director of World Mission Rev. Mienda Uriarte

Then the King will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Matthew 25: 34-36

Dear friends,

Great things are happening in World Mission! As you know from the letters you’ve been receiving, our mission co-workers are at the forefront of showing us what Matthew 25 looks like in the U.S. and in the wider world. They are addressing issues related to eradicating systemic poverty, building congregational vitality and dismantling structural racism. Together with our partners, mission co-workers are engaged in life-transforming ministries in 80 countries around the world. Here are just a few examples:

As an education consultant in the Democratic Republic of Congo, José Jones assists the Presbyterian Community of Kinshasa (CPK) education department in the development, implementation and evaluation of strategic plans to strengthen the church’s primary and secondary education programs for more than 350 schools.

Based in Manila, Rev. Cathy Chang works closely with the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) and other partners in ministry to engage programs and networks across Asia that advocate for people vulnerable to forced migration and human trafficking.

Nadia Ayoub works alongside our Greek partners as they faithfully hold to the biblical call to welcome the stranger. Nadia serves with Perichoresis, a ministry of the Evangelical Church of Greece that provides housing and support to refugees; most of whom have come to Greece from Arabic-speaking countries.

Joseph Russ strengthens and supports a network of partners working in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to address migration issues in the Northern Triangle. Based on the needs people on the ground identify, Joseph empowers U.S. congregations to engage in advocacy related to Central America and immigration reform.

Revs. Drs. Noah Park and Esther Shin serve as professors at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo (ETSC). ETSC graduates work toward revitalizing congregational ministries in Egypt and work with refugee and peace ministries in various countries in the Middle East.

Please consider giving an extra gift this year to support our mission co-workers as they walk alongside our partners and help shape a more life-giving, equitable and hopeful world!

Prayerfully,

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Rev. Mienda Uriarte, Director of World Mission

Presbyterian Mission Agency

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

To give online, visit https://bit.ly/23MC-YE.

Honorary gifts can be made by checking the box and writing the mission co-worker’s name in the comment field online.